Prep Tracker: Historic Day for Weber, Burrow Shines Again and Nordonia Wins Nailbiter

By Jeremy Birmingham on November 16, 2014 at 11:30 am
Mike Weber erupted on Saturday.
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Every weekend in the fall, thousands of high school football times line up and take their shot at prep glory. The Sunday morning Prep Tracker is your final stop for the names, numbers and scores that mattered to Ohio State's recruiting efforts.


WARD LEADS NORDONIA TO UPSET WIN OVER PERRYSBURG

Nordonia may have been the higher-ranked seed in the Divison II playoff game against Perrysburg, but the Yellow Jackets entered the game with a pretty remarkable stat: they hadn't trailed in a game yet this season. On Friday night in Sandusky, 46 minutes had passed and it appeared that streak was bound to continue. The Yellow Jackets had kicked a field goal to take a 52-49 lead over the Knights. On the ensuing kick, the Jackets kicked to the Knights' Alex Alders and everything changed.

Now trailing 56-52, the Yellow Jackets fell short on a fourth down conversion attempt with a little over a minute to play and the Knights ran the clock out on the game and advanced to 12-0.

It was the final big play of the night for 6-foot-2 senior. Alders was a thorn in the side of Perrysburg all night finishing with 10 receptions for 104 yards and three touchdowns to go along with his enormous kickoff return. When it wasn't Alders doing the damage, it was Ohio State commitment Denzel Ward who was. Ward, playing cornerback and wide receiver, once again put on a show, illustrating why he's regarded by some as Ohio's most under-appreciated player. He finished with five receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns to go along with two pass breakups and an interception, his ninth of the season, on defense. Getting closer to the ultimate goal — a state championship — keeps Ward and his teammates focused.

"We know our overall goal is the state championship," Ward told Eleven Warriors. "So we're just taking it day-by-day working on what needs to be fixed Monday through Thursday so when Friday comes where well prepared for the teams we're about to go against."

ANOTHER WEEK AND ANOTHER TEST ANSWERED BY BURROW, BULLDOGS

The voices don't even bother whispering anymore, they say it loud and clear: yes, Athens plays ok football, but they play against terrible competition and they'll lose when the playoffs come around. Joe Burrow has heard for the last few years, and he's still hearing it now.

"We haven't proven anything yet," Burrow said after the Bulldogs topped Tri-Valley to advance to next week's big showdown against Columbus St. Francis DeSales. "We've been here as a group the last two years and came up short both times. We're a highly motivated team."

On Friday night, the Bulldogs went back-and-forth with Tri-Valley, eventually wearing down their opposition thanks to a stifling defense and the steady hand of Burrow. The Ohio State commitment was his usual self in a 41-20 win, completing 13-19 passes, for only 180 yards but managed three touchdowns. He contributed with his legs as well, grounding out 70 yards rushing for another score – he also intercepted a pass on defense to close out the game for good measure.

He's now caught as many interceptions (1) as he's thrown this season.

MIKE WEBER HAS AN OK NIGHT

One of the last remaining running back targets for the Buckeyes in 2015, Detroit Cass Tech star Mike Weber, had a fairly good Saturday afternoon against Chippewa Valley (Clinton Township, Michigan). On 33 carries, in the final game he'd play at Cass Tech's home field, Weber racked up 404 yards and five touchdowns. Next week, the Technicians will take on Saline (Michigan) in a state semifinal game. 

Weber confirmed with 11W that he'll be making official visits following his senior season. Don't expect to see him anywhere until December.

JAMEL DEAN GOES GAGA

The second commitment in the Ohio State 2015, Jamel Dean, doesn't get nearly the attention most Ohio State pledges do, but that could change if he has another performance like he did on Friday. Dean and his Cocoa teammates ran roughshod over Avon Park 67-0 with the 6-foot-1 future Buckeye doing much of the early damage.

In a quarter of play Dean caught three touchdown passes — of 37, 50 and 56 yards — and also returned a punt for a touchdown. The Tigers have now outscored their two playoff opponents 114-0. 

OHIO STATE COMMITMENTS
Player CLASS Pos HIGH SCHOOL OPPONENT RESULTS
JOE BURROW 2015 QB Athens (The Plains, OH) Tri-Valley (Dresden, OH) Won 41-20. Burrow was 13-19 for 180 yards with three scores passing, ran for 70 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown. He also intercepted a pass on defense.
TORRANCE GIBSON 2015 QB American Heritage (Plantation, FL) Immokalee (Immokalee, FL) Won 51-0. Gibson played a half and had 135 yards passing on 9-15. He also scored on the ground and finished with 55 yards rushing.
ALEX STUMP 2015 WR St. Edwards (Lakewood, OH) Olentangy Liberty (Powell, OH) Won 41-12. Stump did not play. He's out for the season with a foot injury.
AJ ALEXANDER 2015 ATH Lake Braddock (Burke, VA) Oaktown (Vienna, VA) Alexander is out for the season while he recovers from a torn ACL.
RASHOD BERRY 2015 ATH Digital (Lorain, OH) Did Not Play Season finished.
GRANT SCHMIDT 2015 OL Roosevelt - 03 (Sioux Falls, SD) Lincoln (Sioux Falls, SD) Lost 28-14 in state title game. 
KEVIN FEDER 2015 OL Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ) St. Augustine (Richland, NJ) Won 41-21.
LIAM MCCULLOUGH 2015 OL (LS) Kilbourne (Worthington, OH) Scioto (Dublin, OH) Lost 23-0.
JOSH ALABI 2015 DL Cass Tech (Detroit, MI) Chippewa Valley (Clinton Township, MI) Won 48-35. Cass Tech rushed for a million yards.
JASHON CORNELL 2015 DL Cretin Durham Hall (St. Paul, MN) Did Not Play. Season finished.
DRE'MONT JONES 2015 DL St. Ignatius (Cleveland, OH) Hudson (Hudson, OH) Lost 28-23. Season finished.
JEROME BAKER 2015 LB Benedictine (Cleveland, OH) Cardinal Mooney (Youngstown, OH) Won 56-16. 2016 WR Justin Layne had 197 yards receiving and two scores of 80 and 60 yards.
NICK CONNER 2015 LB Scioto (Dublin, OH) Kilbourne (Worthington, OH) Won 23-0. Conner did not play as he recovers from a leg injury.
JUSTIN HILLIARD 2015 LB St. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH) Colerain (Cincinnati, OH) Won 29-21. Hilliard leads his team big crosstown victory in the playoffs.
CARLTON DAVIS 2015 DB Norland (Miami, FL) Did Not Play. Season finished.
JAMEL DEAN 2015 DB Cocoa (Cocoa, FL) Avon Park (Avon Park, FL) Won 67-0. Dean was dominant. Story above.
TYLER GREEN 2015 DB DeMatha (Hyattesville, MD) Gonzaga (Washington, DC)  Game at 12:00 p.m. today.
JOSH NORWOOD 2015 DB Valdosta (Valdosta, GA) Newton (Covington, GA) Lost 27-14.
DENZEL WARD 2015 DB Nordonia (Macedonia, OH) Perrysburg (Perrysburg, OH) Won 56-52. Ward filled the stat sheet on offense and defense. Story above.
ERIC GLOVER-WILLIAMS 2015 ATH McKinley (Canton, OH) Did Not Play. Season finished.
JONATHON COOPER 2016 DE Lincoln (Gahanna, OH) Did Not Play. Season finished.
TYLER GERALD 2016 OL Sciotoville (Portsmouth, OH) Did Not Play. Season finished.
KIERRE HAWKINS 2016 ATH Maple Heights (Maple Heights, OH) Did Not Play. Season finished.
GEORGE HILL 2016 RB Hubbard (Hubbard, OH) Aurora (Aurora, OH) Won 23-19. 
DANNY CLARK 2017 QB Washington (Massillon, OH) Did Not Play.  Season finished.
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